Horse drawn carriage ride with afternoon tea – a review

One sunny weekend in April, Holly and her family went to check out a horse and carriage ride with Little Skipwith carriage rides. Her family was made up of two adults and three children between the ages of two and eleven and they reviewed the carriage ride with afternoon tea.

Here’s what they thought about the experience…

We arrived at Little Skipwith horse and carriage rides on a gloriously sunny Sunday morning. The venue was easy to find with the post code. We went to greet Gordon the owner and Otto, a mighty big horse, before boarding our carriage which was adorned with sunflowers and comfortably fit all five of us. One lucky rider also gets to sit at the front of the carriage! One other family were riding at the same time as us, pulled by much smaller ponies, Arthur and Hercules.

We set off down a country lane and Otto pulled us along at a comfortable pace with the occasional sprint which was quite exciting! It felt glorious to watch the countryside passing by as we trotted along the lane. The ride takes place on private property so the journey was nice a peaceful, no other traffic on the road, apart from the occasional walker and a couple of other horses! After around 20 minutes of riding along we took a short break. Tea, coffee, hot chocolate and squash were served while we stroked Otto and chatted to Gordon about the horses.

The second part of the ride was a bit more off road, through the woods and by the fields. The woods were full of beautiful bluebells and plenty of wildlife to spy along the route. Gordon told us that in early spring the woods were dotted with daffodils and in the summer full of colour from the rhododendrons. We trotted along past a stream then back out onto the lane again back to the starting point. The full ride lasted about 45 minutes.

After saying our goodbyes to Otto we went inside the cafe for our afternoon tea! A fantastic array of sandwiches, sausage rolls, salads, scones and cakes were out and ready for us to enjoy. There was a wide selection of drinks on offer for us to help ourselves to as much as we wanted. After a leisurely, hearty lunch we left to say our goodbyes to everyone. From start to finish we were there for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, there was no rush to leave, everything felt very relaxed and enjoyable.

Good to know:

• Rides are available all year round, every day of the week, mornings and afternoons.
• Mother’s Day, Easter and Christmas rides are also available!
• Gordon has 7 different horses, all of which just do one ride a day.
• In the colder months blankets and hot water bottles are supplied to keep you cosy.
• Toilet available at the meeting point and café.
• Dietary requirements can be catered for.

Holly and her family enjoyed A Horse Drawn Carriage Ride With Afternoon Tea for Four People 

Gordon and his team at Little Skipwith Carriage Rides provide one hour horse and carriage rides through the scenic grounds of a country estate near York. The rides can be purchased with or without afternoon tea (the full afternoon tea experience), cream tea (just scones with cream and jam plus tea), a picnic hamper or strawberries and Prosecco.

Rides are suitable for all ages and take place throughout the year.